Most high school
textbooks describe HooverÕs response to the Great Depression as ineffective,
and most Americans associate his name with failed economic policy.Was it?Through this lesson, students will
analyze primary and secondary sources to learn how Hoover responded to the
Great Depression.Then, they will
create their own interpretations of HooverÕs response.

What primary and secondary sources are;
how we can distinguish one from the other.

Day 1:

1.Students work in pairs to read Gary
NashÕs interpretation of HooverÕs response to the Great Depression from American Odyssey.When finished,
students will answer the questions found at the end of the document.

2.Review studentsÕ answers to American Odyssey.Create a chart for sources on the
board [see: Fig. 1 below], and
write studentsÕ answers to the American
Odyssey questions on the column devoted to that source.

Fig. 1

American Odyssey

Fighting Quaker

According to the text, what policies did Hoover propose to combat
the Great Depression?

According to the text, what were the effects of HooverÕs
policies?Were they successful
or unsuccessful?

Do you think the text portrays Hoover in a positive or a negative
light?Why?Include citations from the source!

3.Have students read an excerpt from
Glen JeansonneÕs The Life of Herbert
Hoover—Fighting Quaker: 1928-1933.Students will answer the questions
found at the end of the document.Note:This text requires an advanced
vocabulary.Depending on the
reading level of your students, you may want to read the text with them, and
fill in the paraphrase box as a class.Or, you can fill in the paraphrase yourself and simply read it with
the students.Alternatively, if
youÕre confident in your studentsÕ ability to understand the text, you may
assign them to read it individually, or in pairs, and fill in the paraphrase
box on their own.

4.Review studentsÕ answers to the Fighting Quaker source, and add
studentsÕ answers to the chart.Discuss the differences between the two secondary sourcesÕ
interpretation of HooverÕs response to the Great Depression.How is it possible for historians to
create two completely different versions of the past?What if we relied solely on secondary
sources to understand the past?

5.Have students work in groups, in
pairs, or individually (depending on their ability) to read the primary
documents and answer the questions found at the end of each.If working in groups or pairs,
teachers should assign one document to an entire group or pair.Teachers may also require students to
fill in the Òparaphrase sectionÓ to assess and reinforce student
understanding.Teachers may wish
to model the reading of primary documents by having reading HooverÕs radio
address of Feb. 12, 1932, as a class and have the class paraphrase as they
read.After students are done
reading, they should fill in the chart below [see: Fig. 2 below] to reinforce their understanding of the primary
source they read.

Fig 2:

Hoover Radio Address, Feb. 12, 1932

1931 State of the Union Address, Herbert Hoover

1932 State of the Union Address, Herbert Hoover

HooverÕs Statement on Public v. Private Relief Efforts

According to the text, what specific policies did Hoover propose to
end the Great Depression?

According to the text, what role should the federal government play
in the recovery?What role
should individuals and/or local governments play?

Which secondary source most accurately reflects your primary text?

If you were a historian, would you rely only on the primary
documents to interpret HooverÕs response to the Depression?Why/why not?

6.When students have finished reading
the documents, discuss, as a class, what the primary documents said.Review the questions students
answered.

7.ÒTicket out the DoorÓ:Have students individually answer the
following questions and hand in answers before they leave class:

i.Did the secondary sources agree or disagree with the primary
sources?

ii.Are the primary sources biased?If so, how do you know?

iii.What if we solely relied on this
primary source to understand HooverÕs response to the Great Depression?

iv.Are secondary sources always accurate?

v.Why is it important to use a variety of sources when analyzing
history?

Day 2:

1.Assign students to create their own
interpretation of HooverÕs response.(See Handout: ÒYour Turn: How did Hoover Respond?Ó).Students may use their notes and
sources from Day 1 to help them answer the paragraph response question.This should take the entire period,
but if students finish early, have them critique and score their own
paragraphs and assign themselves a grade withjustification.

1.Classes can continue the same sort of primary and secondary source
comparison and analysis when studying FDRÕs New Deal.An essential question for a future
lesson could be:How do the
primary and secondary sources reinforce or upset prevailing notions about the
success of FDRÕs New Deal?

2.Students will revisit the primary source analysis they conducted when
they compare HooverÕs response to the Depression to George W. BushÕs and
Barack ObamaÕs responses to the 2008 financial crisis.